Our News

On June 13th, we celebrated our fifth and largest Carbon Literate Organisation (CLO) Awards. The night saw an impressive array of awards with 60 Bronze, 27 Silver, 12 Gold, and 2 Platinum organisations being honoured. Over 40 organisations were represented in person, with another 10 joining virtually, all embodying our new tagline: ‘Climate Action Where You Are’.

The Event

The ceremony took place at the Contact Theatre in Manchester. Despite the rain outside, the arrival of guests brought a palpable energy as like-minded individuals gathered to support and inspire each other. These included Project Partners, CL trainers, friends of CLP, team members, and CLOs.

The Awards

Bronze Awards

The ceremony began with the Bronze Awardees, celebrating a diverse group of remarkable organisations. Whilst there were too many to present in person, a video montage showcased footage from each organisation, highlighting their exceptional work. Notable examples included, Kuehne + Nagel, which created the first Carbon Literacy accredited programme focused on logistics, and Turley Associated Ltd., which has been carbon neutral since 2018 and reduced its carbon footprint by over 20 tonnes since completing Carbon Literacy training in the summer of 2023.

Silver Awards

Next, our CLO Coordinator Vydune presented the Silver Awards, adding a special touch as she has closely worked with these organisations over the years, and witnessed their development into the CLOs they are today. Highlights from this year’s Silver cohort include:

• The Brisbane Sustainability Agency: The first Silver CLO in Australia!
• HotelShopUK: After completing Carbon Literacy training, they conducted a greenhouse gas emissions audit, establishing a baseline carbon footprint and a three-year reduction plan.
• Yugo: A student accommodation organisation that implemented an ‘Eco Week’ featuring activities like a pop-up thrift shop, gardening, and a recycling competition.

Event Sponsor: EcoSurety

Another standout Silver Awardee and event sponsor, EcoSurety, is a UK-based compliance scheme focusing on packaging. They have collaborated with major brands such as Lush, Kellogg’s, and Yo Sushi to understand and reduce their packaging impact.

A Q&A session with Ben and Steph from EcoSurety provided insight into their Carbon Literacy journey and the tangible results they are achieving. Since starting with CL in 2022, they have:

• Certified over 60% of their team
• Trained representatives from over 20 external organisations with bespoke courses for the packaging sector.
• Integrated carbon considerations at the board level.

Performance Highlight

After a short break, the event resumed with a surprise, conceptual performance by Robin Lyons from Ergon Theatre. Known for his work focusing on the future and the climate crisis, Lyon’s one-man show led us on a journey through the universe, examining seismic shifts throughout time. He proposed that we are currently experiencing such a shift, driven by our engagement in Carbon Literacy and the evolving push for a cultural paradigm shift towards sustainability.

Gold Awards

The night progressed with the recognition of the Gold and Platinum Awardees. Awards were presented by the CL team members who had worked closely with the organisations to help them achieve this status. Notable achievements among the Gold organisations included:

• Synetiq: Trained over 150 staff and extended training to over 30 different organisations.
• BEKO PLC: The first home appliance organisation in its sector to achieve this status, having trained 58% of their staff since 2022.
• National Highways (Lower Thames Crossing): The first major UK infrastructure project to be awarded Gold CLO, after over half of their staff completed CL training, totaling over 2,500 hours. Designed to be the UK’s greenest road, it prioritises carbon reduction at its heart.

Platinum Awards

Our two Platinum awardees, Positive Planet and Save Our Shropshire, have achieved incredible milestones in their Carbon Literacy journey.

• Positive Planet helps businesses and individuals to simplify their pathways to zero carbon. They have worked with various organisations and sectors to write and develop a variety of CLT courses, including SMEs, Professional Sports Clubs, Public Services, Social Housing, Education, Construction, and Travel & Tourism.
• Save our Shropshire aims to educate and empower people within the Shropshire area, to make a difference in the face of the climate crisis. They have developed courses for households, local authority leaders, town/parish councillors, and SMEs. In collaboration with Speak Carbon, they have delivered CL to over 50 parish groups and town councils and local authorities in Shropshire.

As always, the event served as a powerful reminder of what can be achieved through dedicated individuals and organisations committed to making a difference. From the inspiring organisations to the hard work of our team and the captivating performance by Robin Lyons, the event truly showcased that change is happening where we are.

A huge thank you to Contact Theatre, ARMR catering, and EcoSurety for their contributions to making this a successful night.